April 21, 2025 | By: Hadlee Reichert

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Jamar Campbell’s family has countless ways to describe him: Jamar was “a pain in the behind, he was resilient, and Jamar had the biggest heart. He would give you the shoes off his feet. He was also a big brother, a hardworking man. “Jamar was me,” said his father.

Memories are all they have left of him. On October 28, 2020, Jamar was found unresponsive in his Toyota Camry located in Chester, Pennsylvania. He had numerous gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the paramedics. He was only 21 years old.

Two weeks before Jamar was murdered, his baby girl was born, and he spent every moment he could with her. Jamar’s family stated that “his beautiful baby girl never getting to know her father is one of the hardest feelings we are left with”.

On the night he was murdered, his family began worrying when no one heard from him. When he didn’t take his grandma’s trash out to the street or answer his mom’s phone calls, his family knew something had happened.

“He never missed any of our calls or messages, so that’s when I knew something was wrong,” Jamar’s mother, Tawana Griffin, said. Only a mother’s instinct would have known something was wrong, and she was right. Tawana and the rest of Jamar’s family found out the next morning about Jamar’s death by reading a news article that stated a car was found with a gunshot victim inside. The article included a description of the car, and they knew they had just lost their son, brother, dad, and grandson.

Jamar was from Chester, Pennsylvania, a city in Delaware County. Jamar had called this place home, but considering how close he was to his family, a home would have been wherever his family was.

His passion for helping others extended beyond his family. Rather than taking the college route, Jamar pursued a career in the trades, where he could turn his hands-on skills into a living.

Jamar was the biggest family man, the center of every birthday, holiday, or gathering, and always made sure his family knew he was there for them.

Jamar’s whole life was centered around his family. It was one of his biggest hobbies; aside from fishing, traveling, and a newfound love for shooting pool, his family was his top priority. Some would say Jamar was the center or glue of his family. He always made sure that no birthday, holiday, or event was left uncelebrated. He even planned his own birthday so that everyone got together to celebrate him.

The last birthday he celebrated was his 21st. The theme was Disney Pixar’s Cars. He was a child at heart and wanted everyone to be there for what no one knew would be his last birthday.

Many of Jamar’s family members remember this event as one of Jamar’s best, but it also reminds them of the gap in their lives left when he died. Jamar Campbell Sr., Jamar’s father, said that there was an aura that day, something about the entire family getting together to celebrate Jamar. He said, “There was just something in the air that day that told us to remember that day, and remember Jamar.”

Jamar had special connections with each of his family members, some closer than others, but nonetheless, Jamar was there for his family, doing anything and everything for them, whether they asked or not. He was always the first one outside shoveling the snow, mowing the lawn, or taking the trash bins out to the street for his grandma.

His mother misses him every day. She recalls the last words she said to him – on the phone, the night he died: “I love you,” she said. “Come home.”

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Anyone with information concerning Jamar Campbell’s unsolved homicide is asked to contact the Chester Police Department at (610) 447-8402. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

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